DE102020004402B4 - Method for packaging a plate-shaped packaging product and associated production line - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for the automated packaging of a plate-shaped packaging product (1) along a production line (2), comprising the following method steps:
a) A folding carton (3) is placed in an unfolded state on a conveyor device (6) by means of which the folding carton (3) can be moved in a conveying direction (7) along the production line (2);
b) The packaged goods (1) are placed by means of a laying device (8) onto a support area (9) of the folding carton (3) provided for this purpose;
c) The packaged goods (1) are enclosed along their side edges (10, 11) with packaging cushions (12, 13), whereby
- adhesive is applied to the folding carton (3) at the side edges (10, 11) by means of at least one application device (14, 15);
- at least one packaging cushion (12, 13) is placed on the folding carton (3) at each of the side edges (10, 11) by means of at least one placement device (16, 17), so that the packaging cushions (12, 13) are glued to the folding carton (3) under the action of the adhesive;
d) The folding carton (3) is fed to a folding device (18), by means of which folding areas (19) of the folding carton (3) surrounding the support area (9) are folded over the packaging material (1) and the folding carton (3) is thus converted into a folded state.

Description

The present application relates to a method for the automated packaging of a plate-shaped packaging product according to claim 1. Furthermore, the present application relates to a production line for the automated packaging of a plate-shaped packaging product according to claim 11.

The goods are packaged using a folding carton made of cardboard. The folding carton typically has a plurality of individual layers made of paper. This gives the folding carton a comparatively rigid structure, with a thickness of the folding carton typically ranging between 2 mm and 5 mm. When unfolded, the folding carton lies flat on a surface, so that the edge dimensions of the folding carton significantly exceed its thickness. In particular, the folding carton can have dimensions of 3 m or more along its longer side.

State of the art

The packaging of goods using a folding carton is already known in the art. In particular, it is possible to surround the edges of a particular packaged item, such as a furniture board or other wood-based panel, with packaging padding, thus protecting it from impact loads during transport. The packaged item and the packaging padding are enclosed together using the folding carton, which functions as an outer carton, and thus prepares it for transport.

The packaging of a particular packaged item is typically carried out in such a way that the packaged item is placed on the still unfolded folding carton before the side edges of the packaged item are enclosed with packaging padding. In the typical case of a rectangular, plate-shaped packaged item, appropriate packaging padding is applied along both the long and short sides of the packaged item to protect the corresponding end faces of the packaged item from impact loads. The packaging padding can either be glued to the folding carton or rest unattached against the side edges of the packaged item. Finally, the folding carton is folded over the packaged item and thus converted into its folded state, in which the folding carton completely encloses the packaged item including the packaging padding on the edges. To ensure that the folding carton remains permanently closed for transport, it is typically sealed with appropriate fixing materials, for example using adhesive parcel tape.

The current procedure has proven disadvantageous in that it entails comparatively high costs, particularly with regard to the personnel required to complete the individual process steps. Furthermore, the number of finished packages per unit of time using current methods is too low in some applications to ensure a smooth production process for the respective packaged goods.

Task

The present application is therefore based on the object of providing a method whose efficiency is increased compared to the prior art.

Solution

The underlying object is achieved according to the invention by means of the method having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments emerge from the associated subclaims.

According to the method according to the invention, a respective folding carton, for example starting from a carton magazine, is transferred onto a conveyor device by means of which the folding carton can be moved in a conveying direction. The folding carton is moved along a production line, at the end of which the packaged goods are completely wrapped. The conveyor device can in particular be formed by a conveyor belt onto which the folding carton can be placed. The conveyor device is in particular suitable for transporting the folding carton in a straight direction, wherein the folding carton is preferably not deflected laterally along the production line. By means of a laying device, which can in particular comprise an industrial robot, a respective packaged goods is placed onto a designated support area of the folding carton. The folding carton typically has a certain cutting pattern that specifies folding lines along which the folding carton with corresponding folding areas is ultimately to be folded over the packaged goods. The fold lines represent, in a sense, the predetermined folding points of the folding carton. The support area for the packaged goods is typically surrounded by such fold lines so that the folding carton can be folded around the packaged goods at all sides. According to the method according to the invention, the packaged goods are enclosed all around their side edges with packaging cushions. Advantageously, a corresponding packaging cushion is assigned to each of the side edges. For this purpose, an adhesive is first applied to the side edges of the folding carton by means of at least one application device, by means of which adhesive a respective packaging cushion can be placed on the folding carton. After the adhesive has been applied, at least one packaging cushion, preferably all of the packaging cushions, are placed on the folding carton by means of at least one placement device, so that the packaging cushion(s) is/are connected to the folding carton under the action of the adhesive. The placement device can in particular comprise an industrial robot. Finally, the folding carton is fed to a folding device, by means of which folding areas of the folding carton surrounding the support area are folded over around the packaged goods and the packaging cushions adjoining them. After completion of this method step, the folding carton is in its folded state.

The method according to the invention has many advantages. In particular, the processing of both the folding carton and the packaged goods is automated using appropriate devices, namely the loading device, the application device, and the placement device. This significantly increases the speed at which individual packaged goods are processed. Furthermore, thanks to automation, the quality of the packaging remains consistently high and is therefore easier to control. Damage to the packaged goods, which can be caused by improperly executed packaging, is largely avoided.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, the method is carried out fully automatically, with at least the application device, the application device, and the folding device being controlled by at least one control device. Furthermore, the folding carton is advantageously transferred from a carton magazine to the conveyor device by means of a transfer device, with the transfer device also being controlled by the control device and thus operating fully automatically. Using such a method, the packaging of packaged goods can be carried out extremely quickly without compromising the quality of the packaging.

The method according to the invention is furthermore particularly advantageous when the conveyor device is operated at a constant feed rate. In this case, the folding carton is preferably moved continuously along the production line, starting with its placement on the conveyor device at least until it is fed to the folding device. Thus, the folding carton is not stopped even when the packaging item is placed by means of the placement device, the adhesive is applied by means of the at least one gluing device and/or the at least one packaging cushion is placed by means of the placement device. Accordingly, it is particularly advantageous if the placement device and/or the placement device each comprise at least one industrial robot, by means of which a targeted placement of the packaging item or the respective packaging cushion can be carried out even during continuous movement of the folding carton, thus eliminating the need to stop the latter.

Advantageously, the conveying device is operated at a conveying speed in the range between 0.5 m/s and 5 m/s, preferably between 2 m/s and 4 m/s.

If the packaged item consists of a rectangular plate, a method is particularly advantageous in which, after the packaged item has been placed on the conveyor, adhesive is applied to the folding carton along opposite side edges of the packaged item using an application device. This advantageously occurs in a first step along longer longitudinal edges of the packaged item. Additionally or alternatively, the application can be carried out simultaneously using two application units of the application device, with each application unit being assigned to one of the opposite side edges of the packaged item.

The application device can in particular be formed by a portal that extends transversely across the conveyor device, wherein the at least one application unit is mounted on a cross member of the portal and can thus be positioned above the conveyor device. This makes it particularly easy to move the respective application unit along a longitudinal axis of the cross member, preferably by motor, and to position it, so that by dispensing the adhesive from above onto a surface of the folding carton, the adhesive can be applied particularly easily along the side edges. In this case, the application device as such can be fixed relative to the conveyor device, since in order to guide the packaged goods or the folding carton along the application device, the latter is in motion by means of the conveyor device. The preferably continuous movement of the folding carton is therefore The adhesive is particularly advantageous for application. Advantageously, the adhesive is applied simultaneously when two application units are used, with the application units arranged side by side along the longitudinal axis of the cross member.

Furthermore, it can be advantageous if, when using a first application device, at least one second application device is also used, which is arranged downstream of the first application device. The use of at least two application devices is particularly advantageous in order to apply adhesive both along the longitudinal edges and along the transverse edges running perpendicular to the longitudinal edges - at least in the case of rectangular packaging items. Thus, in particular, one application device can be responsible for applying adhesive along opposite side edges, with one application device being responsible for the opposite longitudinal edges and the other application device being responsible for the opposite transverse edges.

Particularly for application along those opposite side edges that extend at least primarily, possibly entirely, transversely to the conveying direction of the conveyor, it is advantageous if the application device has at least two application units, each responsible for applying the adhesive along one of the opposite side edges. It is further advantageous if the application units are moved along a longitudinal axis of a cross member of the application device during the movement of the folding carton for applying the adhesive.

Furthermore, it can be particularly advantageous if the cross member of the application device is oriented obliquely with respect to the conveying direction of the conveyor device, so that the movement of a respective application unit along the longitudinal axis of the cross member has both a movement component in a direction transverse to the conveying direction and a component parallel to the conveying direction. By coordinating the conveying speed, the angle between projections of the longitudinal axis of the cross member and the conveying direction into a common horizontal plane, and a movement speed of the application unit along the cross member, the adhesive can be applied particularly easily along the respective transverse edges without the folding carton having to be stopped. In contrast to the application units by means of which the adhesive is applied along the opposite longitudinal edges oriented parallel to the conveying direction, the application units for the opposite transverse edges oriented transverse to the conveying direction are accordingly advantageously not stationary during the application of the adhesive, but move along the cross member.

To further develop the method according to the invention, packaging cushions are first applied to the folding carton at first, opposite side edges of the packaged goods by means of at least one application device. This preferably takes place simultaneously; for example, an application device designed in the form of an industrial robot can have a corresponding effect, by means of which several packaging cushions can be grasped simultaneously and placed on the folding carton at different points. The packaging cushions can be gripped, for example, using suction cups. Only after the packaging cushions have been applied to the first, opposite side edges are the packaging cushions applied along the other, opposite side edges. This can take place either immediately after the first packaging cushions have been applied or after an intervening further process step, for example the application of additional adhesive. Advantageously, the packaging cushions applied to the second, opposite side edges are applied by means of a further application device downstream of the first application device, so that the production line comprises at least two application devices in total. Advantageously, these each include an industrial robot.

Applying the packaging cushions in the described sequence offers the advantage that a pair of packaging cushions corresponding to opposite side edges of the packaged goods can horizontally overlap the associated side edge of the packaged goods, while the pair of packaging cushions applied to the first opposite side edges correspond in length to the length of the associated side edge of the packaged goods and therefore do not overlap. The above-mentioned sequence offers the advantage that the second pair of packaging cushions can be applied to an end face of the other packaging cushions and therefore does not have to be placed between the other packaging cushions. Further details can be found in the exemplary embodiment below.

Finally, a method is particularly advantageous in which the folding carton is closed by means of a closing device after it has been converted into its folded state. Preferably, at least one strip of adhesive tape is adhered along at least one joint area of corresponding folding areas of the folding carton. The adhesive tape comes into adhesive contact with the surfaces of the two corresponding folding areas and thus bridges the joint area. This prevents the two folding areas from unfolding again on their own, particularly in the absence of external forces. This typically requires the use of a cutting tool, which is usually only carried out at the packaging's destination during the unpacking of the packaged goods.

In terms of device technology, the underlying object is achieved according to the invention by means of a production line according to claim 11. Advantageous embodiments emerge from the associated subclaims.

The production line comprises a conveyor for conveying a folding carton, a placement device for placing a respective packaged item onto a designated support area of the folding carton, at least one application device for applying adhesive to the folding carton along the side edges of the packaged item, at least one placement device for placing at least one packaging cushion onto the folding carton, and at least one folding device for folding the folding area of the folding carton surrounding the packaged item around the packaged item. Advantageously, the production line further comprises at least one transfer device, by means of which a respective folding carton, for example from a carton magazine, can be transferred or placed onto the conveyor.

The method according to the invention can be carried out particularly easily using the production line according to the invention. The resulting advantages have already been explained above. In particular, it enables fully automated packaging of packaged goods, which is superior to the manual methods known in the prior art both in terms of consistently consistent quality standards and production speed.

For this purpose, it is particularly advantageous if the application device and/or the placement device and/or the transfer device each comprise at least one industrial robot. Accordingly, in an advantageous embodiment, the production line has at least one control device by means of which at least the application device, the application device, and the placement device can be controlled. In this way, the production line can be operated fully automatically. Advantageously, the control device is also operatively connected to a transfer device for the folding carton.

If at least the placement device and/or at least one placement device comprise an industrial robot, it can also be advantageous if they have at least one manipulator and at least one effector, wherein the effector preferably comprises a plurality of suction cups. By means of such suction cups, a packaged item and/or a packaging cushion can be gripped by applying a negative pressure. Advantageously, a transfer device also comprises an industrial robot, which likewise has a manipulator and an effector comprising a plurality of suction cups. By means of such a transfer device, a respective folding carton can be gripped particularly easily by applying a negative pressure and transferred onto the conveyor device. Such industrial robots are comparatively easy to program, so that in combination they are particularly well suited to fully automated operation of the production line.

Further developing the production line according to the invention, it comprises at least one application device, which is designed in the form of a portal extending transversely across the conveyor device. It comprises a cross member extending above the conveyor devices, on which at least one application unit is mounted, preferably movably. The cross member can extend, in particular, perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the conveyor devices. It is also conceivable, particularly in the case that the production line comprises two application devices, for the cross member to extend at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor devices that is less than 90°. In particular, the angle can be between 85° and 45°, preferably between 80° and 60°.

The use of a portal-type application device has the advantage that each application unit can be freely positioned above the conveyor. This allows each application unit to be positioned at a point on the crossbeam below which a respective side edge of the packaged goods is guided, so that the application unit can apply the adhesive to the folding carton directly next to the side edge. As explained above, this can be particularly continuous if several application units, in particular two application units, are present on one crossbeam.

Furthermore, the use of several application devices arranged one behind the other downstream of the conveyor device is advantageous, with a first application device being responsible for applying adhesive along first, opposite side edges and the second application device being responsible for applying adhesive along the other, opposite side edges of the packaged item. Advantageously, any application units are movably arranged on the respective cross member, which is particularly advantageous for applying adhesive along side edges that are not oriented parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor devices. According to the above explanation, this is particularly important when the packaged item is formed by a rectangular plate having two side edges oriented transversely to the conveying direction.

For the purpose of applying the adhesive, it is particularly advantageous if at least one application unit is moved along the longitudinal axis of the cross member during the movement of the packaged goods and thereby applies the adhesive, wherein the movement of the application unit is selected as a function of an angular position of the longitudinal axis of the cross member in relation to the conveying direction and the conveying speed.

Examples of implementation

• 1: Eine Seitenansicht eines ersten Ausschnitts einer erfindungsgemäßen Fertigungsstraße,
• 2: Eine Seitenansicht eines zweiten Ausschnitts der Fertigungsstraße gemäß 1,
• 3: Einen Querschnitt durch die Fertigungsstraße gemäß 1 im Bereich einer Auflegeinrichtung,
• 4: Ein Querschnitt durch die Fertigungsstraße gemäß 1 im Bereich einer ersten Auftragseinrichtung,
• 5: Ein Querschnitt durch die Fertigungsstraße gemäß 1 im Bereich einer ersten Aufsetzeinrichtung,
• 6: Eine Draufsicht auf die Fertigungsstraße gemäß 1 im Bereich einer zweiten Auftragseinrichtung,
• 7: Eine Seitenansicht der Fertigungsstraße gemäß 1 im Bereich einer zweiten Aufsetzeinrichtung,
• 8: Eine Draufsicht eines umlaufend von Verpackungspolstern eingefassten Verpackungsguts,
• 9: Einen Querschnitt durch die Fertigungsstraße gemäß 1 im Bereich einer Falteinrichtung und
• 10: Einen Querschnitt durch die Fertigungsstraße gemäß 1 im Bereich einer Falteinrichtung.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the figures. It shows:

• 1 : A side view of a first section of a production line according to the invention,
• 2 : A side view of a second section of the production line according to 1 ,
• 3 : A cross-section through the production line according to 1 in the area of a laying device,
• 4 : A cross-section through the production line according to 1 in the area of a first order facility,
• 5 : A cross-section through the production line according to 1 in the area of a first landing device,
• 6 : A top view of the production line according to 1 in the area of a second order facility,
• 7 : A side view of the production line according to 1 in the area of a second landing device,
• 8 : A top view of a packaged item surrounded by packaging cushions,
• 9 : A cross-section through the production line according to 1 in the area of a folding device and
• 10 : A cross-section through the production line according to 1 in the area of a folding device.

An example of implementation that is shown in the 1 to 10 shown, comprises a production line 2 by means of which packaging goods 1 can be packaged fully automatically. The method for packaging such a packaging item 1, implemented here as an example, is described below using the production line 2.

The production line 2 has a conveyor device 6, by means of which a folding carton 3, by means of which the respective packaged goods 1 are packaged, can be conveyed along the production line 2 together with the respective packaged goods 1. This takes place here along a conveying direction 7 that is straight in itself. In other words, the folding carton 3 is not deflected from the beginning to the end of the production line 2, but is moved at least substantially along a longitudinal axis 29 of the conveyor device 6.

At the beginning of the process, a folding carton 3 is placed on the conveyor device 6. This is done here by means of a transfer device (not shown in the figures), by means of which a folding carton 3 is removed from a cardboard magazine (likewise not shown) and transferred onto the conveyor device 6. The folding carton 3, which here is formed from a cardboard consisting of several layers of paper, is in an unfolded state at this time, so that it lies completely flat on a surface of the conveyor device 6. The conveyor device 6 can in particular be formed by a conveyor belt that can be driven by at least one drive device (not shown), in particular an electric motor, and can thus achieve continuous advancement of the folding carton 3. Advantageously, the production line 2 is operated in such a way that the conveyor device 6 never stands still, i.e., it ensures continuous movement of each folding carton 3 along the production line 2.

After the folding carton 3 has been placed on the conveyor device 6, a respective packaged item 1 to be packaged is placed on the folding carton 3. In the example shown, the packaged item 1 is a rectangular furniture panel with a thickness of approximately 20 mm. Side edges 10 of the packaged goods 1 oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis 29 of the conveyor device 6 are longer than side edges 11 oriented transversely to the longitudinal axis 29. The longer side edges 10 can accordingly be referred to as "longitudinal edges" and the shorter side edges 11 as "transverse edges". The packaged goods 1 are placed on a support area 9 of the folding carton 3. This is particularly evident from 3 . The support area 9 depends on the folding pattern underlying the folding carton 3. Thus, it is not absolutely necessary, although possible, that the support area 9 is arranged centrally on the folding carton 3.

The packaging item 1 is placed on the carton using a placement device 8, which in the example shown comprises an industrial robot. This robot is equipped with a plurality of suction elements 4 that can interact with a surface of the packaging item 1. The suction elements 4 are then connected to a suction device (not shown in the figures), by means of which a negative pressure can be generated on the suction elements 4. In this way, the packaging item 1, which has flat surfaces, can be gripped particularly easily and placed on the folding carton 3. The packaging item 1 is placed in a placement direction 5 oriented perpendicular to a surface of the conveyor device 6.

Following the placement of the packaging item 1, adhesive is applied for the first time along the side edges 10 of the packaging item 1. This application is carried out by means of an application device 14 which has two application units 20. These application units 20 each comprise an application nozzle by means of which an adhesive can be dispensed. In the example shown, the application device 14 is designed in the form of a gantry which extends transversely to the conveying direction 7 over the conveying device 6. The application units 20 are movable along a horizontal cross member of the application device 14, in particular by means of associated drives. In this way, the application units 20 can be moved transversely to the conveying direction 7 and relative to the folding carton 3 and the packaging item 1. For the purpose of applying adhesive along the side edges 10, the application units 20 are positioned relative to the packaging item 1 such that they apply adhesive to the folding carton 3 directly next to the longer side edges 10. A corresponding position of the order units 20 results from 4 The adhesive is applied continuously in a line. The application units 20 remain stationary on the crossbeam, while the folding carton 3, together with the packaged goods 1, is guided by the conveyor device 6 beneath the application device 14. The application of adhesive by the application units 20 is controlled and performed only during the time period in which the packaged goods 1 pass the application device 14.

After the adhesive has been applied, the folding carton 3 is prepared for the application of packaging cushions 12. Accordingly, the production line 2 comprises, downstream of the application device 14, a placement device 16 by means of which the packaging cushions 12 can be placed onto the folding carton 3. The placement device 16 also comprises an industrial robot equipped with placement units 34. In the example shown, two identical packaging cushions 12 are simultaneously placed onto the folding carton 3 along the longer side edges 10 of the packaged goods, along which the adhesive was previously applied, by means of the placement device 16. The two packaging cushions 12, which in the example shown are formed from folded cardboard, are gripped by means of the placement units 34 from a magazine (not shown in the figures) and released after being positioned along the side edges 10. The positioning takes place dynamically, i.e. during a continuous movement of the folding carton 3 together with the packaged goods 1. This has the consequence that the placement device 16 together with its placement units 34 moves in a manner adapted to a conveying speed of the conveying device 6, so that at least at the moment of placement of the packaging cushions 12 on the packaged goods 1, no relative movement directed in the conveying direction 7 takes place between the packaging cushions 12 and the packaged goods 1. Such a relative movement only occurs in a placement direction 25 oriented vertically to the surface of the conveying device 6, which can be seen using corresponding arrows according to 5 results.

Downstream of the placement device 16, the production line 2 comprises a second application device 15, by means of which adhesive can be applied to the folding carton 3 along the shorter side edges 11 of the packaged goods 1 oriented transversely to the conveying direction 7. The second application device 15 is particularly well-defined by means of 6 . Since this application of adhesive should also advantageously be carried out without interruption, i.e. without stopping the folding carton 3, the application device 15 comprises two portals extending over the conveyor device 6, each having a cross member 27. Similar to the first application device 14, application units 20 are arranged on the cross members 27, which are movable along a direction of movement 26 along the respective cross member 27. In this case, one application unit 20 cooperates with a portal or a cross member 27. The cross members 27 are aligned such that their longitudinal axes 28, which extend parallel to one another, are oriented obliquely with respect to the conveying direction 7. In particular, projections of the longitudinal axes 28 of the cross members 27 and the longitudinal axis 29 of the conveying device 6 into a common horizontal plane together enclose an angle 30 of approximately 65° here. This orientation of the application device 15 has the advantage that adhesive can be applied continuously by means of the application units 20. In this case, the application units 20 are each moved in the direction of movement 26 along the cross members 27 while the adhesive is being dispensed, whereby the application units 20 receive a movement component oriented parallel to the conveying direction 7. The angle 30, the conveying speed of the conveying device 6 (here: 3 m/s) and a movement speed of the application units 20 along the cross member 27 are coordinated with one another in such a way that the movement of the folding carton 3 is continued unchanged along the production line 2, wherein the application units 20 move in the course of the movement of the folding carton 3 below the application device 15 from one end of the respectively assigned shorter side edge 11 to the opposite end thereof and in the course of this apply the adhesive linearly along the respective side edge 11 to the folding carton 3.

After the application of adhesive along the shorter side edges 11, packaging cushions 13 are also applied to the packaged goods 1 there, so that the packaged goods 1 are finally enclosed all the way around along their side edges 10, 11 by packaging cushions 12, 13. The application of the correspondingly shorter packaging cushions 13 is carried out by means of an application device 17, which also comprises two application units 34. The application device 17 is based on 7 illustrated. In contrast to the first placement device 16, in the example shown, the packaging cushions 13 are not placed simultaneously, but one after the other, on the folding carton 3. For this purpose, the placement device 17 also has an industrial robot that can move in accordance with the conveyance of the folding carton 3 and can thus, in principle comparable to the first placement device 16, place the packaging cushions 13 precisely in a respective placement direction 31 on the folding carton 3. To grip the packaging cushions 13, the placement device 17 has two suction elements 32.

As a preliminary result, the packaged goods 1 - as already explained - are enclosed all around by packaging cushions 12, 13. This condition is particularly evident from 8 . In the embodiment shown, the packaging cushions 12 are dimensioned such that their length 21 measured parallel to the conveying direction 7 corresponds to a length 22 of the packaged item 1 measured equally parallel to the conveying direction 7. The packaging cushions 13 adjacent to the shorter side edges 11, on the other hand, have a length 23 that exceeds a length 24 of the associated side edges 11 of the packaged item 1. The packaging cushions 13 therefore overlap the associated side edges 11. The difference in length between the length 23 of the packaging cushions 13 and the length 24 of the associated side edges 11 of the packaged item 1 corresponds to twice the width of the packaging cushions 12. This has the consequence that the shorter packaging cushions 13 are laterally flush with the longer packaging cushions 12.

To complete the packaging, the folding carton 3 together with the packaged goods 1 and the surrounding packaging cushions 12, 13 is finally fed to a folding device 18, by means of which the folding areas 19 of the folding carton 3 are folded over the packaged goods 1. This is particularly evident from the 9 and 10 As a result, the packaged item 1 is completely packaged. Advantageously, the folding carton 3 is connected to one another, in particular by means of an adhesive tape, in a joint area (not shown in the figures) in which the opposing folding areas 19 adjoin one another after being folded over. This prevents the folding carton 3 from opening unintentionally.

In addition to the described application devices 14, 15, the production line 2 shown here also has a third application device 33 upstream of the folding device 18, by means of which additional adhesive can be applied. This application takes place on the upper sides of the packaging cushions 12, 13. By means of this adhesive application, which can be carried out essentially analogously to the application devices 14, 15, the folding areas 19 of the folding carton 3 can be glued to the upper sides of the packaging cushions 12, 13 during their wrapping around the packaged goods 1.

List of reference symbols

1

Packaging goods

2

production line

3

folding box

4

suction element

5

Laying direction

6

conveyor system

7

Conveying direction

8

Laying device

9

Support area

10

Page margin

11

Page margin

12

Packaging cushioning

13

Packaging cushioning

14

Order setup

15

Order setup

16

placement device

17

placement device

18

Folding device

19

Folding area

20

Order unit

21

length

22

length

23

length

24

length

25

Touchdown direction

26

Direction of movement

27

crossbeam

28

Longitudinal axis

29

Longitudinal axis

30

angle

31

Touchdown direction

32

suction element

33

Order setup

34

Attachment unit

Claims (15)

A method for the automated packaging of a sheet-shaped packaging item (1) along a production line (2), comprising the following method steps: a) A folding carton (3) is placed in an unfolded state onto a conveyor device (6), by means of which the folding carton (3) can be moved in a conveying direction (7) along the production line (2); b) The packaging item (1) is placed onto a designated support area (9) of the folding carton (3) by means of a placement device (8); c) The packaging item (1) is enclosed circumferentially along its side edges (10, 11) with packaging cushions (12, 13), wherein - adhesive is applied to the folding carton (3) at each of the side edges (10, 11) by means of at least one application device (14, 15); - at least one packaging cushion (12, 13) is placed on the folding carton (3) at each of the side edges (10, 11) by means of at least one placement device (16, 17), so that the packaging cushions (12, 13) are glued to the folding carton (3) under the action of the adhesive; d) The folding carton (3) is fed to a folding device (18), by means of which folding regions (19) of the folding carton (3) surrounding the support region (9) are folded over around the packaged goods (1), and the folding carton (3) is thus converted into a folded state. Procedure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the method is carried out fully automatically, wherein at least the laying device (8), the application device (14, 15) and the folding device (18) are controlled by means of at least one control device. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor device (6) is operated at a constant feed speed, wherein preferably the folding carton (3) is moved without interruption along the production line (2) starting with its transfer onto the conveyor device (6) until at least the transfer of the folding carton (3) into its folded state. Procedure according to Claim 3 , characterized in that the conveying device (6) is operated at a conveying speed in the range between 0.5 m/s and 5 m/s, preferably between 2 m/s and 4 m/s. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the packaged goods (1) are formed by a rectangular plate. Procedure according to Claim 5 , characterized in that after the packaging material (1) has been placed on the conveyor device (6), adhesive is applied to the folding carton (3) by means of an application device (14) on opposite side edges (10) of the packaging material (1), preferably on its longer longitudinal edges, preferably simultaneously by means of two application units (20) of the application device (14). Procedure according to Claim 6 , characterized in that downstream of the first application device (14) by means of a second application device (15) adhesive is applied to the folding carton (3) on the remaining opposite side edges (11) of the packaged goods (1), preferably on its shorter transverse edges, preferably simultaneously by means of two application units (20) of the application device (15). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that packaging cushions (12) are first placed, preferably simultaneously, on first opposite side edges (10) of the packaged goods (1) by means of at least one placing device (16), before packaging cushions (13) are placed, preferably simultaneously, on the second opposite side edges (11) by means of at least one placing device (17). Procedure according to Claim 8 , characterized in that the packaging cushions (12), which are first attached to opposite side edges (10), have a length (21) which corresponds to a length (22) of the side edges (10) to which the packaging cushions (12) are assigned. Procedure according to Claim 9 , characterized in that the packaging cushions (13) which are last attached to opposite side edges (11) have a length (23) which exceeds a length (24) of the side edges (11) to which the packaging cushions (13) are assigned. Production line (2) for the automated packaging of a plate-shaped packaging item (1) by means of a folding carton (3), comprising a conveyor device (6) for conveying a folding carton (3) in a conveying direction (7) along the production line (2), a laying device (8) for laying the packaging item (1) onto a supporting area (9) of the folding carton (3) provided for this purpose, at least one application device (14, 15) for applying adhesive to the folding carton (3) at side edges (9, 10) of the packaging item (1), at least one placing device (16, 17) for placing packaging cushions (12, 13) on the side edges (9, 10) of the packaging item (1) onto the folding carton (3), and at least one folding device (18) for folding over folding areas (19) of the folding carton (3) surrounding the packaging item (1), whereby the folding carton (3) can be converted into its folded state, characterized in that the application device (14, 15) - viewed in the conveying direction (7) - is arranged downstream of the laying device (8). Production line (2) to Claim 11 , characterized by at least one control device by means of which at least the laying device (8), the application device (14, 15) and the placement device (16, 17) can be controlled, so that the production line (1) can be operated fully automatically. Production line (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the laying device (8) and/or the setting device (16, 17) are formed by an industrial robot which has at least one manipulator and at least one effector, wherein the effector preferably comprises a plurality of suction cups by means of which a folding carton (3) and/or a packaging cushion (12, 13) can be gripped by applying a negative pressure. Production line (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one application device (14, 15) is designed in the form of a portal which has a cross member (27) extending above the conveyor device (6), on which at least one application unit (20) is mounted, preferably movably. Production line (2) to Claim 14 , characterized in that projections of, on the one hand, a longitudinal axis (28) of the cross member (27) of at least one application device (15) and, on the other hand, a longitudinal axis (29) of the conveyor device (6) into a common horizontal plane together enclose an angle (30) in the range between 85° and 45°, preferably between 80° and 60°.

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